Adam Lambert doesn't think he can play Freddie Mercury in a film, despite filling the late singer's shoes with rock band Queen.

Adam Lambert has cleared up reports he and Sam Smith dated.

The American Idol alumnus was linked to British singer Sam after the pair was spotted on a night out in New York in March (16). However Adam explains it was far from the romantic rendezvous the press made it out to be.

“I saw the headlines and wrote him, ‘Oh my god, they think we’re dating!’” he laughed to Britain’s Metro’s newspaper. “To be honest, we’re not that close but the little interaction we’ve had, he’s lovely, such a sweet guy.

“Sam was out with a group of his friends, I was out with a group of mine, and we were all drinking and having a laugh.”

That’s not to say Adam is against dating someone in the limelight; his ex-boyfriend is Finnish TV host Sauli Koskinen. The pair split in 2013, but the romance taught the 34-year-old that going out with a fellow star has its benefits.

“My ex is a celebrity in the country he was from, but he wasn’t international. In some ways it would be good because you’d both understand the world you live in,” he mused before adding: “But it might get competitive.”

Finding a new boyfriend isn’t top of Adam’s priority list right now though as he has a jam packed summer of gigs with rock band Queen. Since 2014 the star has filled in for late singer Freddie Mercury, alongside original Queen line-up Brian May and Roger Taylor.

Adam doesn’t think he has what it takes to play the legendary singer in the upcoming film of his life though, after Sacha Baron Cohen dropped out of the role.

“I don’t know if I would ever want to play Freddie – I’m not sure how much I sound like Freddie. It would be a big challenge,” he admitted.

Adam is also currently on his own world tour, The Original High Tour. The show lands in London, England, on Thursday (14April16).